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Intermission: Third

『Fortress Valemarch – 5 Years Ago』

Within the inner castle of the fortress city stood the first prince of the empire, Calidius Spurius Epistylia. Placed before him was a map of the surrounding area marked with locations of Ossian emplacements.

“How many?” asked the prince.

An adventurer stood beside the prince his party having scouted the positions of every Ossian within eyesight of the walls.

“Over a hundred thousand goblins and tens of thousands of Orkoss. Supported by varying amounts of Ossian Lokins. They've also moved beyond the range of our arrows. How much longer for reinforcements from Campania and Capitoline?”

Without taking his eyes off the map the prince responded.

“Two weeks. But by then…”

“The stores will be emptied, they are keeping the ones that can be used for food away from the front lines. Not only that, they are nearing completion of fortifications using wood from the nearby forests. The Sixteenth and Seventeenth will be unable to relieve us.”

Desperation. There were many thousands alive within the walls of the fortress. As the Ossians began their march months prior the surrounding villagers flocked to the fortress for safety. Those that fled for the outer walls of the empire were captured by Ossian scouts sent to prepare for marking fortification locations.

An idea formed in the mind of the prince. Knowing there would be less than three days worth of food for the nineteen thousand men, women and children a drastic action would be required. He thought about how much of his forces and inhabitants remained.

4,900 legionaries remained of the Third Legion's 10,000 deployed.

1,600 cavalry remained of the Fifth Auxilia's 4,000 deployed.

2,200 archers remained of the Sixth Auxilia's 4,000 deployed.

1,000 combat diviners remained of the Sixth Auxilia's 2,000 deployed.

2,000 adventurers remained of the 8,000 locals.

800 guards remained of the 2,500 local Custodia Securitas.

6,500 remained of patricians, proles, plebeians, peasants and slaves.

From the capital, Aventine, Capitoline lie in the south and Campania to the southwest. Valemarch was situated near the border of Pompeii to function as a border town and defensible fortress. A place of refuge and commerce for travelers which traverse the long distance from both countries was now besieged from all sides. Since the time of the Pompeian Rift incident, re-fortifications had occurred as well as expansions of barricades and trenches to prevent an Ossian incursion to succeed.

With numerous assault attempts and suffering great attrition, the Ossian forces had finally overcome the defenses of Valemarch and had manage to surround the defenders. Great losses of life occurred. Now the prince needed to come to a decision which could prove disastrous or save what was left of the inhabitants.

“Prepare the horses and empty the remaining stores. We will put as many women and children on the horses and have them carry whatever rations they can. We will charge out toward the east where the lines are thinnest. We will head northeast towards the mountains and cut through the Endless Forest into Campania or Liguria. If that proves impossible we will take refuge at the abandoned fortresses of Stonequiet.”

“And if Stonequiet is under occupation? No contact has been made for centuries.” asked the adventurer.

“Further north to Ridgefall. That is if we cannot cross the forest. Then make our way to the safe borders of Healingspring.”

“We can gather and hunt for food on the way, but the distance, we will need to use a rearguard.”

“Half our forces. A quarter will remain within the fortress to perform a last stand while the other will join us as we charge out against the besiegers.”

Both heaved a heavy sigh knowing more deaths will occur from this decision. The adventurer moved to leave the building.

“I will ask for volunteers.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Fortress Valemarch – Night』

“Charge!”

The eastern gates opened. One thousand horses sallied out towards the ossian lines with each horse carrying two riders. The second rider was an adventurer who would sacrifice his or her self in the initial attack. They were followed by two thousand and five hundred legionaries to be the rearguard. Next was the six hundred remaining horses carrying women and children. Finally the last to emerge from the gates were the combat diviners, a handful of adventurers, seven hundred archers and the remaining noncombatants traveling on foot.

The horses clashed into the line of ossians still disorganized from the sudden assault. As, or right before, the horses ran through each goblin and orkoss the adventurer accompanying them dropped from the horses. Their goal was to disrupt the line and create an opening. The legionaries soon joined the ranks and fought to divide the lines further. They fought feverishly, hacking and slashing at anything that was not human. The third and fourth groups ran through the opened lines and made way to the mountains. The legionaries followed until they could no longer keep pace. They found a defensible area made their last stand to buy as much time possible for the prince.

As news of the fighting spread through the ossian ranks, an order was sent to attack the fortress. Thousands upon thousands of goblins and orkoss surged towards the undefended walls. With the gates once more closed the remaining defenders moved to execute their final plans.

Throughout the day, work had been done to prepare for this. Wood from homes, shops, wagons, barrels and any wood scraps that could be found were piled along the walkway of the outer walls. Oil was poured on the long piles. Structures made of wood which could not be moved were also doused with oil.

As the ossians began scaling the walls the defenders ran to light the fires. As each fire was lit the defenders fled towards the inner castle to commit their last stand. The ossian assault was disrupted by the fires, but had managed to punish the defenders with their own archers.

Finally the fires died out and the assault resumed. The walls were taken, but the castle stood firm. Thousands upon thousands of arrows were exchanged between assaulter and defender. The ossian bows being of inferior quality which gave the advantage to the defenders who could easily out range them.

Attrition favored the ossians. As each defender fell, a ladder could be erected to breach. Hours passed and exhaustion set, there was no longer any possibility to repel the attack. Two hundred defenders now remain. With the death of thousands of ossians, their goal was accomplished. They retreated to the main room of the castle, barred the doors and windows. Cloth was piled high and soaked with oil. The smoke will kill them. The fire will kill them. But not the greenskins.

☘ ☘ ☘

Two months passed. Only three thousand had survived the escape from the fortress. The ossians had laid many traps in anticipation of an escape attempt. Most of the cavalry had survived, but the foot soldiers were unfortunately sacrificed. The survivors continued to flee heading east toward the Silent Mountains whilst attempting to gain distance from the pursuing ossians. Many of the horses had died from exhaustion and their meat harvested. They continued north.

The survivors traversed dense jungles and open forests as they searched for the ancient fortress. Surviving adventurers and auxilia hunted and gathered whatever food they could find. The remaining horses were slaughtered as they could not pass through the jungle. Starvation was a constant threat. Each day they would lose another hunter or scout from various wildlife or native ossian living in the area. Attacks against the group were almost constant, so much so that many could not find sleep. Exhaustion set in.

Another month passed. The survivors numbered less than two thousand. The forests cleared and open plains filled with rocky outcrops came into view. They followed the mountain line and continued north until finally they had found it. The abandoned fortress of Stonequiet. Once a mighty supplier of stones, metals, magic stones and minerals for the fledgling empire the fortress eventually became uninhabitable.

The Silent Mountains attained its name from the unique property of a special type of rock the natives dubbed 'silent stone'. It had, depending on density, the ability to absorb sound. The magic stone 「Silent Stone」 was named after this material as a large deposit was found within the ancient mines. Once the mine dried up and with the oakoo spreading, there was no longer a need to remain. The fortress became abandoned.

Finally the survivors of Valemarch could take refuge. They would rest and recover before making an attempt to head west, towards the outer walls of the empire. They inspected and search every part of the ruins hoping to find anything of use. Stacks of timbers and lumber hundreds of years old was found near the southern area of the fortress. Old homes were still intact, hardly suffered from the elements as little, if any, rain fell onto the area. Wind was light if there were any. They could finally sleep with some peace. But it would not last.

Scouts had encountered numerous goblin and orkoss tribes within the forest to the west. Returning to the walls through the forest was now impossible. Constant food shortages were plaguing the survivors as hunters and gatherers could only find so much within the barren plains.

The north was scouted. A large lake was located north of the fortress, but the scouts noted the lake water could not be consumed. The lake was filled with high salinity water. Two men fell ill after attempting to sate their thirst. Water was now a problem.

All combat diviners of the empire are trained to use a wide variety of magic. Water magic was a priority. Being able to provide drinkable water to the army was an invaluable skill. The survivors taking refuge within the ruined fortress relied on what was left of the combat diviners for water. They had become exhausted. Many were already facing 「Mana Exhaustion」 and few had already succumbed to 「Mana Burn」. Their Life Force had been reduced to such critically low levels that they were forced into a coma-like state in order to regenerate both Life Force and Mana. Twelve had died. Without being able to take in sustenance, their Life Force was no longer able to regenerate properly.

The prince no longer had any advisers to seek guidance from. Many of those men had fallen during the escape or trekking through the forests. Legionaries without banners, horsemen without horses, archers with few arrows and mana-less diviners. Less than a hundred adventurers and a few hundred civilians. As each day passed and more survivors perished the prince decided on a final push.

Fortress Ridgefall lay northeast of Stonequiet. The fortress bordered the desert lands of the northern barbarians along with Fortress Healingspring. The prince lay his gambit on sneaking through the tribal territories and finding refuge on yet another abandoned fortress. The cache of wood would be carried to the waters edge and rafts built. This was not to be done.

Once more the prince faced a siege by ossians. The goblin and orkoss tribes had been alerted to their presence by a hunter who, whilst suffering from starvation and delirium, failed to quickly down a young deer. A passing goblin found the deer with an arrow sticking from its flank. Tracing its tracks, it then found the hunter already dead. The goblin alerted the tribe who then sent their own scouts and discovered the survivors.

Smoke billowed upwards. The goblins made large fires outside the fortress to signal other the tribes. More gathered. More fires. More smoke. More signals. This alerted the ossians who had been pursuing the survivors.

The Third Legion was no more.

When the smoke cleared it was obvious what had happened behind the walls. The ossians were not met by arrows, spears or swords. There was no resistance. They were simply met by the charred remains of the refugees. They had committed suicide and had their bodies burned to deny the ossians a bountiful victory.

☘ ☘ ☘

『Stonequiet – 2 Month ago』

“This message is dated five months ago! Why is it only now arriving to me?”

*bark*

“Fucking mutt. Go!”

A wolf-like bipedal creature crouched on all fours and left the room. The person with an eerily human-like appearance whom received the letter showed a furrowed brow as he read on. Another person approached him, a young girl also with a human-like appearance.

“Father, what news?”

“Good news, we can finally leave this barren shit-hole. We have been recalled.”

“Amazing news! The troops will surely be happy to hear this.”

“Indeed, go gather them up.”

When the legion fled they were followed by a contingent of warriors and scouts. They were easy to find as tracks were left haphazardly in their panic. As they finally caught up to the surviving group they found a second fortress already besieged by local ossians. It was a simple attack as the walls were easy to breach and undefended. The burned bodies were unfit to be consumed for food.

The local ossians tribes, which had formed together to attack the fortress, were conscripted and ordered to establish ranches and sties to raise animals. Messengers were sent back to the first fortress and the local area explored, but nothing of worth was found. The tracking group remained stationed at the fortress in preparations to establish mining operations. When the messenger returned months later the tracking group, now defensive group, were ordered to follow through with the mining operation as well as to remain there until recall orders were issued.

Four years later those orders were received. The fortress was partially rebuilt, but few minerals were found. Raw stone was sent to the first fortress to supply their planned fortification.

“Leave a contingent group to protect the fortress. We leave now.” said the commander.

The bolstered army marched through the forest to reunite with the main force. The travel was expedited as paths were constructed over the years to allow carts to transport supplies to pass. The scouting party lead by the commander's daughter moved away from the army to search for anything of interest deeper within the forest.

A few days into their travel, the scouting group had found an oasis. Spring water flowed out from an underground river and surrounding the oasis was a bale of giant turtles. At least two dozen adults could be seen and hundreds, if not thousands, of eggs were buried in nests. As the scouting group reported the find, the commander ordered the capture of the turtles and eggs. Goblins and orkoss were sent as well as other types of ossians under control of the commander, most of which included luposs, canioss, tauross and suidoss.

The battle of the oasis was a victory for the ossians. Thousands of eggs were claimed and four giant turtles were captured. Twenty-three were slain protecting their nests and only one had managed to escape heading east. Only fourteen goblins and one orkoss were lost in the surprise attack. The slain turtles were to be butchered for meat and the remains to be used for tools and armor. The group continued south.

The following month a strange light could be seen, even against the brightness of the sunlit sky. A Rift had formed.